Carton and blank for its fabrication



May 10, 1966 H. STEIGER CARTON AND BLANK FOR ITS FABRICATION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 19, 1964 MIN-g.

May 10, 1966 H. STEIGER 3,250,454

CARTON AND BLANK FOR ITS FABRICATION Filed Nov. 19, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet a INVEA/TOR #25 2; 5251328. Mar-M Mer w,

United States Patent 3,250,454 CARTON AND BLANK FOR ITS FABRICATION Henry Steiger, Muri, Switzerland, assignor to Steiger A.G., Lithograplrie, Druckerei, Cartonnagefabrik, Bern, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Filed Nov. 19, 1964, Ser. No. 412,514 Claims priority, application Switzerland, Nov. 27, 1963, 14,511/63 7 Claims. (Cl. 229-22) The present invention broadly has reference to an improved blank for the fabrication of a weldable folding box and to a box or carton fabricated from said blank. More specifically, the present invention pertains to an improved blank incorporating a material covered at one side or face with a thermoplastic layer for the fabrication of a weldable folding box or carton. The blank of this invention incorporates a quadrangular e.g. rectangular fioor panel and two pairs of respective oppositely situated side panels connected with the floor panel via a respective fold line bounding the aforesaid floor panel at all sides. Furthermore, each side panel is provided at all of its free sides with a weld or sealing flap, with one of the pairs of side panels being of substantially quadrangular e.g.

rectangular configuration and the other pair of side panels being of substantially triangular configuration.

It will be appreciated that blanks of this type have already been proposed in the art; however, possess the marked disadvantage that the boxes or cartons formed therefrom were not tightly sealed at the corners or edges formed by the tips of the triangular side walls or panels. Furthermore, when the cartons were assembled from such prior art blanks and were to be used as underpressure or overpressure packages, generation of the desired underpressure or overpressure was only possible in a vacuum hood or pressure hood respectively. Additionally, with these prior art folding boxes it was also not possible to avoid the increased difficulty of welding in the upper edges 7 or corners due to the presence of a multiplicity of material layers, unless one was willing to accept faulty sealing, particularly in those locations which from the standpoint of tightness were extremely sensitive.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a relatively simple configured blank of the mentioned type which renders it possible to fabricate a box which is absolutely tight and formed such that, either an overpressure or underpressure can be generated therein without resorting to particular auxiliary means, or the welding can be performed at all sides such that only two layers of material come to bear against one another at the welding locations.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved carton and blank structure for the formation of said carton which is capable of being manufactured in an efiicient and economical manner, such blank incorporating two pairs of side panels, one pair being of substantially triangular configuration and the other pair of substantially quadrilateral configuration e.g. square or rectangular.

In accordance with an important aspect of the inventive blank and carton produced therefrom the weld or sealing fiaps of the triangular-shaped side panels also encompass or enclose the free ends or tips of such side panels.

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Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a blank designed according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the blank of FIG- URE l depicted in half-assembled condition;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the folding box or carton fabricated by means of the blank of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a variant form of blank according to a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the folding box fabricated from the blank shown in FIGURE 4.

Describing now the drawings and, in particular, directing attention first to the embodiment depicted in FIG- URES 1 to 3, it will be understood that the illustrated blank B is especially suitable for the fabrication of boxes or cartons C capable of being exposed to overpressures 0r underpressures. More specifically, this blank B is comprised of cardboard or the like coated or covered at its upper face or inner side with a suitable heat scalable or weldable mateial. Moreover, the blank B incorporates a quadrangular base e.g. rectangular fioor panel or wall portion 1 bounded at all sides by the respective fold lines 2, 3, 4, 5. The base or floor panel I is connected through the agency of the fold lines 3 and 5 with the substantially triangular side panels or wall portions 6 and 7 respectively. These side panels 6 and 7 each respectively consist of a side portion 8 and 9 as well as weld or sealing flaps or borders 14, 15 and 16, 17, respectively, which are separated by the fold lines 10, 11 and 12, 13, respectively, from the aforesaid side portions 8 and 9 respectively.

The floor panel or wall portion 1 is connected via the respective fold lines 2 and 4 with two further side panels or wall portions 18 and 19, respectively, of substantially quadrangular e.g. rectangular configuration. ginal portions of the side panels 18 and 19 are designated by reference numerals 2830 and 31-33, respectively. Both of the pairs of side panels, namely, the triangular side panels 6 and 7 and the side panels 18 and 19 of substantially quadrangular form, are connected with one another via the respective fold lines 20 to 23 which start from the corners 24 to 27, respectively, of the floor panel 1.

In order to erect or assemble the carton or box C the triangular side panels 6 and 7 are bent along the fold lines 3 and 5, respectively, the side panels 18 and 19 along the fold lines 2 and 4, respectively, as such is best evident by referring to FIGURE 2. Consequently, there automatically occurs a folding of the blank B along the corner fold lines 20 to 23 as well as a folding back or outwards of the weld or sealing flaps 14, 15 and 16, 17 along the fold lines 10, 11 and 12, 13 respectively. When the box or carton C is completely folded or erected these weld or sealing flaps 14, 15 and 16, 17 bear against the associated neighboring marginal flap or border portions 30, 31 and 33, 28, respectively, of the side panels 18 and 19 respectively. It will be appreciated that these marginal portions 28, 30, 31 and 33 are also formed or constructed as sealing or weld flaps. Furthermore, when the box is completely folded the marginal confronting portions 29 and 32 of the side flaps 18 and 19 respectively, likewise providing sealing borders or flaps, bear against one another. Consequently, with the box C in assembled The mar- 3 condition (FIGURE 3) the floor panel 1 forms the floor 1a of the box and the side panels 6, 7 as well as 18, 19 form the end walls 8a, 9a and front and rear walls 18a, Ha respectively.

Connection of the weld or sealing flaps 14 and 17 with the respective. lateral marginal portions or flaps 30 and 28 of the side panel 18, the weld flaps 15 and 16 with the respective side marginal portions or flaps 31 and 33 of the side panel 19, as well as interconnection of the marginal portions or flaps 29 and 32, advantageously takes place by welding for instance. More precisely, this welding operation can be performed with pressure and counter-pressure between two welding electrodes without a non-compressible content of the box being adversely affected. In so doing, welding takes place such that, depending'upon the contents of the box, initially one side panel remains unwelded and only after filling of the box issuch permanently connected with the neighboring panel. In performing the welding operation, it is of paramount importance that care is taken to ensure that in the upper edges formed by the tips 8b and 9b of the side walls 8a and 9a respectively, (that is, also the tips 6a and 7a of the side panels 6 and 7, respectively), there appears an absolutely tight closure.

Now, if air is to be removed from the package or carton C or if such is to be filled with a protective gas, then initially connection of both side panels 18 and 19 is dispensed with. An appropriate slot means is formed between both of these side panels 18, 19 by virtue of the double material thickness resulting from the weld or sealing flaps 29, 32, through which air withdrawal or filling with a protective gas can take place in a simple manner. Moreover, directly after removal of the pump nozzle or infeed nozzle, this last welding bond can be performed by means of two lateral welding jaws in order to completely seal the carton, without it having been necessary to employ a vacuum hood or pressure hood for this purpose.

It will be seen that the illustrated embodiment, by virtue of the described physical structure of the inventive blank, permits relatively simple fabrication of a folding box which is welded at all sides and which fulfills all requirements with regard to tight sealing thereof. This is particularly the case since the sensitive locations, namely, the six corners of the box are formed from the material of the blank itself and no welding edges extend into these corners.

The variant embodiment of blank B depicted in FIG- URES 4 and 5, wherein like reference numerals are again generally employed for the same or analogous parts of such blank, differs from the previously described embodiment in that, in this case, there is missing the fold lines to 13 at the side panels 6 and 7, and, further, the side panels 18 and 19 are here provided with fold lines 34, 3'5 and 36, 37 respectively. The result of such physical construction is that, when the box C is assembled as shown in FIGURE 5, the triangular side Walls 8a and 9a lie in one plane with the interconnected weld or sealing flaps 14/30, 15/31, and 16/33, 17/28 respectively. It should further be appreciated that also in this embodiment, only two material layers always bear against one another in the upper edges during the welding operation, so that, here again, the best conditions prevail for a tight closure.

While there is shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practised within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A carton formed from a foldable blank comprising a base panel, a pair of substantially quadrangular-shaped side panels connected to opposite sides of said base panel, said pair of quadrangular-shaped side panels defining a front wall and a rear wall, a pair of substantially triangular-shaped side panels connected to the remaining opposite sides of said base panel, said pair of triangularshaped side panels defining a pair of opposed end walls, each of said triangular-shaped side panels being provided with a respective foldable sealing border along each of its marginal edges, said foldable sealing borders of said triangular-shaped side panels being folded outwardly and connected with the neighboring side panel defining said front and rear walls, said front wall and rear wall each having a respective upper marginal portion connected to one another at confronting inner faces thereof.

2. A carton formed from a foldable blank comprising a base panel, a pair of substantially quadrangular-shaped side panels connected to opposite sides of said base panel, said pair of quadrangular-shaped side panels defining a front wall and a rear wall, a pair of substantially triangular-shaped side panels connected to the remaining opposite sides of said base panel, said pair of triangular-shaped side panels defining a pair of opposed end walls, each of said triangular-shaped side panels having a tip portion and being provided with a respective foldable sealing border along each of its marginal edges, said foldable sealing borders of said triangular-shaped side panels completely enclosing the associated tip portion thereof and being folded outwardly and connected with the neighboring side panels defining said front and rear walls, said front wall and rear wall each having a respective upper marginal portion connected to one another at confronting inner faces thereof.

3. A carton formed from a foldable blank at least partially covered at its innerface with a heat-scalable material, comprising a substantially quadrangular-shaped base panel, a pair of substantially quadrangular-shaped, similar side panels connected to opposite marginal sides of said quadrangular-shaped base panel, said pair of quadrangular-shaped side panels defining a front wall and a rear wall, a pair of substantially triangular-shaped side panels connected to the remaining opposite marginal sides of said quadrangular-shaped base panel, said pair of triangular-shaped side panels defining a pair of opposed end Walls, at least each side panel of a given pair of said side panels being provided with a respective foldable sealing border along each of its marginal edges, the other remaining pair of side panels each being provided with a respective sealing border along each of its marginal edges, said foldable sealing borders of said given pair of side panels being folded outwardly and directly connected with the neighboring sealing borders of said other remaining pair of side panels, said front wall and rear wall each having a respective upper marginal portion defining a respective sealing border which are directly connected to one another at confronting inner faces thereof, only two material layers of the blank appearing at each location of joinder of said side panels with one another, said carton possessing a substantially triangular-shaped cross-sectional configuration.

4. A carton as defined in claim 3, wherein said respective foldable sealing borders of said given pair of side panels are located at said triangular-shaped side panels defining said end walls.

5. A carton as defined in claim 4, wherein each of said triangular-shaped side panels includes a tip portion, said respective foldable sealing borders of each triangularshaped side panel completely enclosing the associated tip portion thereof.

6. A carton as defined in claim 3, wherein said respective foldable sealing borders of said one given pair of side panels are located at said quadrangular-shaped side panels defining said front and rear walls.

7. A carton as defined in claim 6, wherein said other remaining pair of side panels is said triangular-shaped side panels each of which includes a tip portion, said sealing borders of each side panel of said triangular shaped pair completely enclosing the associated tip portion thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNiTED STATES PATENTS Harrington 22922 Fink.

Johnson 229-22 Negoro 22948 6 2,913,161 11/ 1959 Travis 22922 2,979,247 4/ 1961 Pellaton et a1 229-48 FOREIGN PATENTS 690,675 7/1964 Canada.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner.

D. T. MOORHEAD, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CARTON FORMED FROM A FOLDABLE BLANK COMPRISING A BASE PANEL, A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY QUADRANGULAR-SHAPED SIDE PANEL CONNECTED TO OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BASE PANEL, SAID PAIR OF QUADRANGULAR-SHAPED SIDE PANELS DEFINING A FRONT WALL AND A REAR WALL, A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY TRIANGULAR-SHAPED SIDE PANELS CONNECTED TO THE REMAINING OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID BASE PANEL, SAID PAIR OF TRIANGULARSHAPED SIDE PANEL DEFINING A PAIR OF OPPOSED END WALLS, EACH OF SAID TRIANGULAR-SHAPED SIDE PANELS BEING PROVIDED WITH A RESPECTIVE FOLDABLE SEALING BORDER ALONG EACH OF ITS MARGINAL EDGES, SAID FOLDABLE SEALING BORDERS OF SAID TRIANGULAR-SHAPED SIDE PANELS BEING FOLDABLE OUTWARDLY AND CONNECTED WITH THE NEIGHBORING SIDE PANEL DEFINING SAID FRONT AND REAR WALLS, SAID FRONT WALL AND REAR WALL EACH HAVING A RESPECTIVE UPPER MARGINAL PORTION CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER AT CONFRONTING INNER FACES THEREOF. 